The Counselling Clinic

The Counselling Clinic is a place where clients can benefit from reliable and readily accessible psychotherapeutic counselling services. We believe in a holistic approach that re-establishes emotional balance and builds a sense of self-worth.

About John Couto

John Couto is the driving force behind the Counselling Clinic. John is a senior clinician and the clinic manager with over 12 years of experience in counselling and psychotherapy. His specialties include: addiction therapy, mental health, relationship counselling, parenting, overcoming trauma and many others.

John’s therapeutic approach is built on strong interpersonal relationships. These authentic client relationships coupled with open communication are the prerequisites for growth, healing and self-improvement opportunities.

About The Counselling Clinic

The clinic isn’t just a place where you’ll benefit from high quality counselling services. The aim of the Counselling Clinic is to make such assistance approachable and readily available to the broader community.

We understand that many people cope with mental health issues. If you’re one of these people, you can find relief through working with an experienced counsellor. Whether you’ve dealt with trauma in the past or you don’t know the root of your issues, a visit to the Counselling Clinic can set you on track for recovery.

Do you feel that you’re missing something in your life? Are you lonely, angry or lacking self-confidence? Is a past trauma standing in the way of your current or future success? Our psychotherapists can help you through a friendly, open therapeutic approach.

The Counselling Clinic team awaits you! Give us a call today at 02 6294 8013 to schedule your first appointment.

WE SPECIALISE IN

Trauma Counselling

Many people who present for counselling have experienced some form of trauma. This may range from a single incident trauma through to complex trauma. Single incident trauma can include a car or other serious accident; physical or sexual assault; a complicated medical procedure, including a complicated birth process; war or torture; or disasters such as bushfires or floods. Read More

Mental Health Counselling

Mental health could be regarded as a state of wellbeing enabling you to engage with and enjoy life. When you feel emotionally well, you are able to work towards personal goals and contribute toward family, community and society, and this feels personally satisfying and rewarding. It assumes a level of resilience enabling you to cope with ordinary life stressors and lets you engage with others for pleasure and support. Read More

Addiction Counselling

There is no clearly identifiable list for the things that humans may develop an addiction towards. We might find that we turn to substances or behaviours which may have once (or even continue to) help soothe feelings of distress, offer comfort, increase confidence and foster connection with others and the world or overcome loneliness and boredom. Read More

Relationships, attachment and bonding

Research indicates that relationships are at the core of many disorders and many of lifes challenges that we all experience. Attachment isa term referring to your first interactive love relationship—the one you had with your primary caregiver as an infant, usually your mother. This set the stage for how you unconsciously experienced and understood future relationships and bonds.

Romantic relationship, ideally the sustaining emotional bond in most adult relationships providing a platform of acceptance, safety and support. Although when miss-attuned can be a powerful source of frustration if not feelings of insecurity, rejection and feeling unloved.

Relationship with close friends, fostering a sense of community and belonging a source of strength and support for many who can cultivate and maintain this and without this for many results in a sense of isolation, loneliness or even depression.

Peers or co-worker, can make daily life something to look forward to as you mutually sustain and support each other in what might be meaningful or productive purpose but when dysfunctional can lead to exclusion, burnout or bullying.

Spiritual bonds with something greater than the self, for many can be a source of inner strength, resilience and a source of love, ideally impacting on several above-mentioned relationships through compassion, kindness and understanding.

The process of therapy can assist you to understand your attachment roots, how this presents itself in your current relationships and the areas of unmet needs. Overtime, it will support you to engage in these relationships differently, where youll have your needs more effectively met and reciprocally meet the needs of those around you.

Whether your relationships have ended, are on the verge of ending, or whether you wish to reverse some of the negative patterns before they get out of hand, therapy will help you to get on track.

Parenting and attachment

Parenting and Attachment

Research indicates that the main predictor of how well your child will do in school and in life is the strength of the relationship he or she has with you, the parent or primary caretaker. The secure attachment bond is the nonverbal emotional relationship between an infant and primary caregiver, defined by emotional responses to the baby's or child’s cues, as expressed through movements, gestures, and sounds. The success of this relationship enables a child to feel secure enough to develop fully, and affects how he or she will interact, communicate, and form relationships throughout life. By understanding how you can better participate in this emotional interaction, you can ensure that your child has the best foundation for life. This relationship impacts your child’s future mental, physical, social, and emotional health. It is not founded on quality of care or parental love, but on the nonverbal emotional communication between child and parent known as the attachment bond. While it’s easiest to form this secure attachment bond with an infant, don’t despair it can be formed at any time or at any age even with adults. Read More

Children and young people

Counselling and psychotherapy can be an effective early intervention strategy for children and young people who have had emotional, behavioural or social difficulties. The aim could be described as alleviating, lessening or preventing these problems from becoming more complex or requiring referral to costly specialist services. However, Counselling and psychotherapy can only genuinely take place when the therapist is able to sees a child or young person in a private and confidential setting to explore the difficulties they may be having, distress they may be experiencing or perhaps their dissatisfaction with life, or loss of a sense of direction and purpose. Ideally counselling and therapy should be at the request of the young person as no one can really be sent for counselling.

The Counselling Clinic welsomes young people who self-select counselling or psychotherapy as a desired strategy or support. However, if you are referring a young person under the age 16 please contact The Counselling Clinic to discuss this with a clinician. Please note, that depending on the reason for the referral, therapy can be equally or more effective effective when provided to a receptive care giver who is living or working closely with a child or young person, at other times family therapy may be more appropriate. Contacting the clinician can help with making this decision.

Welcome to

The Counselling Clinic

If you are wondering if this is the right place take some time to consider the following questions:

Do you feel stuck in your current life circumstances?

Do you experience intense feelings of sadness, hopelessness or helplessness?

Do you experience unwanted thoughts or feelings of worry or fear?

If you have answered yes to any of these questions, you are at the right place. Be assured that change is possible and that the therapy we offer can be a very helpful process.

Simply complete the form or call us on 02 6294 8013 and we can begin the journey together.

Enquire Now

ABOUT TCC

The Counselling Clinic was conceived to make in-depth counselling and psychotherapy services benefits known and easily accessible and available to the broader community.